Shifting Doors
by Tea's
Summary: #7: Tenten had always thought relationships could come later. She had time, didn't she? [response to ch614] A collection of short vignettes, insert scenes, might-have-beens, and speculation snapshots. Various characters.
1. Naruto, Sasuke: Unraveling a Circle

**Collection notes ****(12/16/2012)**: For those who may have previously read this first story below, please excuse the confusion. This was originally posted as its own story, under its title, Unraveling a Circle. I'm doing a fic dump of a few short gen pieces I never got around to uploading onto this site, and I thought it might make more sense to group them together, especially since I will probably have new ones to add every once in a while.

This collection will always be marked as 'complete' since each part is meant to stand on its own. Individual summaries, ratings, timeline/spoiler notes, etc. will be posted per update when applicable. Please note that all of them will be short, a majority around drabble-length. Comments always appreciated, and thanks for reading!

.

**Summary:** There are four times Naruto thinks he may have understood Sasuke, but when all is said and done, there is perhaps just once when he finally does. (Rating: T)

**Timeline:** Undefined future. Spoilers for up to the entire _Invasion of Pein_ arc, manga ch.449 and shippuuden anime ep.175.

* * *

**Unraveling a Circle**

.

He's seven years old when he first spots Sasuke sitting by himself, alone, overlooking the lake and with a shadow of loneliness in those pitch black eyes. They're orphans, the both of them, held apart from the rest of the village in ways he doesn't quite grasp. But the emptiness that surrounds Sasuke... _that_, Naruto thinks he understands better than anyone else.

He doesn't realize, not yet, that having and losing isn't the same as never having at all.

.

When Jiraiya dies, Naruto thinks perhaps he understands Sasuke just a bit more. He learns what it means to have and lost, what it's like to lose someone precious, someone _family_. And he feels the pain so strongly he fails to remember that what he has lost, no matter how great, is but one.

He doesn't realize, not yet, that losing one isn't much the same as losing it all.

.

When Naruto arrives to a destroyed village and sees Pein for all this man has done, Naruto thinks, perhaps this time, he finally _finally_ understands Sasuke. All of it. The pain, the hatred, the need for revenge. And as he charges towards this madman who has taken away his beloved home, he whispers to the wind, "Is this how you felt, Sasuke-teme?"

He doesn't realize, not yet, that it's far from the same when the cause of one's pain is all but a stranger.

.

When he meets his dad and then later his mom, Naruto gains a new appreciation for his hatred of Madara. He gets a taste of parental love and a glimpse of what his life could have been like. He thinks of all the possibilities and memories that aren't, and he thinks of all the moments that have been stolen from him. He _knows_ now, and he understands.

He doesn't realize, not yet, that imagining lost possibilities and losing real memories are two very different things.

.

When Sasuke comes back to the village and massacres every last person, all Naruto has left are streets littered with bodies and pavement awash with blood. All he has left is this stranger he calls brother, standing in front of him with eyes spinning and spinning an endless red. He doesn't understand at all.

He doesn't realize, not yet, that perhaps - for once - he truly does understand after all.

.

**/end**

* * *

_Originally written: January 18, 2012, for LJ 500themes community prompt #009 - Sensation of loss._

Inspired by Naruto's unrelenting obsession with bringing Sasuke back. Despite his best intentions and how much he values their friendship, I sometimes have to wonder if Naruto understands Sasuke all that much. Not that I do - as it stands, I reckon I spend too much time wanting to slap Sasuke upside the head. :P


	2. Kankurou, Gaara: A Worth Beyond

**Timeline:** Takes place shortly after the _Kazekage Rescue_ arc, manga ch.281, shippuuden ep.32. Spoiler reference for said arc. (Rating: K+)

* * *

**A Worth Beyond**

.

There were nights, lately, when Kankurou caught Gaara sitting by the window, staring out into the desert for hours on end.

He would see him flexing his hands absently in a motion that was all too familiar, with sand hovering just slightly off the ground around his feet. Moments like these made him suddenly remember, as though realizing it for the first time all over again, that Shukaku was no longer residing inside Gaara's body.

Sometimes, like tonight, Gaara would turn around to look at him, and Kankurou would almost imagine those eyes asking him, _What am I worth now?_

_.  
_

* * *

_Originally written: April 04, 2007, for LJ community naruto100 - theme: 'No Longer' with bonuses for 'window' and 'two Sand sibs'  
_


	3. Anko, Kurenai: Bluntly Sane

**Timeline:** Takes place some time after the _Hidan and Kakuzu_ arc, manga ch.342 and shippuuden ep.89. Spoilers for the Asuma portion. (Rating: T)

* * *

**Bluntly Sane**

.

It's been a week, but the seat next to Kurenai remains empty. It's an unspoken understanding. The place next to her belongs to Asuma.

Anko grabs a beer, chugs down half the bottle, grinds her heel into Genma's lap - _"Ow, Anko, what the hell?!" _- and launches over him, planting herself right into that space.

Conversation dies down around the table and she rolls her eyes. As if Kurenai needs more reminders that Asuma's gone. These are the things that could drive a shinobi crazy.

She turns and grins at Kurenai.

The space is _way_ too small to fit Asuma anyway.

.

* * *

_Originally written: February 08, 2012_


	4. Kakashi: The Mirror of Erised

**Summary:** Kakashi remembers too much, too little, and forgets why he has never passed a team. (Rating: K+)

**Timeline:** Undefined. No explicit spoilers, but having read beyond _Kakashi Gaiden_ would probably make more sense.

* * *

**The Mirror of Erised**

.

He looks at Sasuke and sees redemption.

He listens to Naruto and relives second chances.

He smiles at Sakura and imagines her softening all the little edges in between.

He passes a genin team.

.

_Mah, they have some potential for teamwork._

Kakashi's reply is the same no matter who asks.

.

He lets them live a chance long dead, and doesn't say the potential for teamwork he sees is for a team that no longer exists.

He knows he isn't Minato-sensei.

But by the time he realizes Sasuke isn't him, Naruto isn't Obito, and Sakura isn't Rin, it's far too late.

.

* * *

_Originally posted: February 06, 2012, for LJ community 500themes, prompt #205 - Memory of a dream_

**A/N: **The title - The Mirror of Erised - for those who don't already know, is an object from the Harry Potter world, described as a mirror that shows the deepest and most desperate desire of one's heart. In regards to the mirror, Albus Dumbledore said, _"Men have wasted away before it, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible." _Just thought it was especially fitting for what I was trying to portray in the fic. :)

And in case it isn't clear, this was written long before the more recent revelations on Kakashi and his old team... not that it would make much difference, I think?


	5. Gaara: Residue of Control

**Timeline:** Takes place several months after the _Kazekage Rescue_ arc, manga ch.281, shippuuden ep.32. Spoilers for said arc. (Rating: T)

* * *

**Residue of Control**

.

He snaps awake abruptly, almost violently, hands clenched at his sides, eyes wide and breath constricted painfully in his chest.

Somewhere outside his window, a door shuts and he hears the sound of footsteps grow louder, then soft as its owner moves further down the street, until finally, there is no sound at all.

His heart continues to pound, a roar in all that silence inside his head - huge, rolling stretches of nothing, as disconcerting as it is a relief. The moment passes, the _panic _passes. And he breathes.

Six months, two weeks, and four days since _it's _been gone.

He keeps count, reminds himself he's in control.

Six months, two weeks, and one day since he stopped being able to stay awake. Stopped needing to, Temari told him.

He keeps count, but doesn't remind himself there isn't anything to take that control away. He can still remember the way it slips and spirals out of him wildly, leaving a stench of blood in his wake.

There is no blood now. Just silence.

Gaara closes his eyes, lets the tension go, and leans back against the grainy wall.

His bed sits across the room, pillows and blanket neatly tucked in place. Eventually, its crisp sheets will soften with use.

But not today. Not yet.

.

* * *

_Originally written: February 25, 2008. For LJ community naruto_contest - theme: Control_

Another post-Shukaku extraction snapshot I wrote years ago, because it couldn't have been all rainbows for Gaara. And I'm probably in the minority, but Gaara without Shukaku made me sad. Looking back on it now, I'm trying to remember... 6 months later, the war may have very well started by then. Eh, oops. :P

If anyone out there is still reading these, thank you. Comments are love if you're willing to spare any.


	6. Neji: Destiny Freely Chosen

**Summary: **There was a time when Neji had openly cursed his destiny. He hoped now that it wasn't what people would remember. (Rating: T)

**Timeline:** Undefined future, speculation deathfic. No spoilers, unless you've just started the series and don't know Neji's family history yet.

* * *

**Destiny Freely Chosen**

.

The irony didn't escape him as he lay there on the muddy ground, staring at the unconscious figure next to him. To begin with, it was his duty to die for her.

Blinking once, twice in the unrelenting rain, Neji wondered if he'd drown first before life managed to drain out of him completely.

"I need help over here! Somebody!"

_Desperation._

If he thought he could summon up enough will to do so, he would've told Sakura not to bother. Instead, he laughed, shortly and bitterly. In the end, this was his destiny after all. Just as his father had died for Hiashi-sama, his life was merely a substitute for Hinata's and who she might become.

What would Naruto say to that, he couldn't help thinking.

Death, Neji had always believed, was something he didn't fear. It was such an inherent part of shinobi life that it would be foolish for any ninja to think himself above such a fate. Even now, as he reached over to clasp his fingers over hers, he couldn't say for sure whether he was afraid of his own death. Yet fear was all he thought of right then.

Fear for abandoning her. For how how she would blame herself. For how she would break herself, thinking she wasn't strong enough.

He hoped his Hyuuga destiny wasn't what people would choose to remember. And he hoped his words all those years ago wasn't what she would choose to dwell on. He hoped she would, instead, remember that this was a destiny he had freely chosen.

Perhaps, Naruto would say he died for something worthy.

He would've liked that, he thought.

.

* * *

_Originally written: June 12, 2007. For LJ community naruto100 - challenge theme: Abandonment, with a bonus for 'rain'_

. . ._  
_

**ETA: A/N WITH SPOILERS FOR RECENT MANGA CHAPTER 614, DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T KEEP UP WITH THE MANGA:**

As stated above, this fic was written over 5 years ago, but I thought I should state it again after ch.614 came out because my timing in uploading this turned out to be kind of ironic. I've always mocked my own deathfics quite a bit whenever I write one, because I tend to think I'm being overly dramatic about something that would probably never happen. Alas, I'm proven wrong... and I don't know whether to be more amused or more upset by it. But damn. All I can say is damn, regarding the latest chapter.


	7. Tenten, Neji: Once Upon a Time

**Summary: **Tenten had always thought relationships could come later. (Rating: T)

**Timeline:** Some time after the 4th Shinobi War. _**SPOILERS**_ for the most recent manga chapter, 614. You've been warned.

* * *

**Once Upon a Time**

.

Tenten was always a little different from the other females in her age group. She had never placed much stock in romance and relationships, choosing instead to focus on her training. She had a goal, and she was still young. She wanted to be known as one of the strongest kunoichi, like Tsunade-sama.

Relationships could come later.

She had time.

But as she stood there, flowers in hand, staring down at the grave she visited every night, Tenten couldn't help but remember the times when she and Neji shared a smile full of promises.

_One day_, she had always thought.

_Some day_, she had imagined.

And it was so easy to picture the two of them together.

But relationships could come later.

She had time.

Tenten wondered how she could have gotten it so wrong.

.

* * *

_Written and posted: December 18, 2012. LJ community 500themes prompt #154 - Unfinished tale._

**A/N:** This is probably as close as I get to a ship fic for this collection, but I'm not sure I view this as ship-centric. More like a painful could have been and a bit of mourning for all the NejiTen shippers out there. This scene kind of smacked me in the head while my brain was trying to catch up with what just happened in the most recent manga chapter, and this is what I ended up hacking out.

I still have a couple of old snippets to add here, but since this was a direct response to a recent chapter, I thought I'd upload this one first. And sorry, I'm kinda still in shock here. :P


End file.
